


see beneath your perfect

by maybeaslytherin



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, I really don't know what this is, call it therapeutic writing, i needed to rant, oh and i made bronn a dog, tyrion and brienne friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23523679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybeaslytherin/pseuds/maybeaslytherin
Summary: A disappointing conversation leaves Brienne frustrated and wanting a friend to talk to. What she finds is more than she expected.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 18
Kudos: 85





	see beneath your perfect

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly don't know what this is. It started as a need to vent then became more of a therapeutic writing exercise. But anyways, this is just a one-shot that I wrote around 2 in the morning last night and polished at one in the morning tongiht. I hope this is a somewhat enjoyable read and brings you some joy throughout these difficult times. I hope you all are safe and well.

If she had to define it, Brienne was, well, exasperated. She didn’t know how exactly her feelings had grown to this point, or why this unbearable sense of frustration seemed to hit her like a train at one in the morning on a random Friday night. 

Ok, it probably had something to do with her latest interaction with Hyle Hunt. But while other people had made comments like that before, this one seemed to be the last straw. Part of her felt like there was a live wire running through her nerves, setting her heart to racing, but another part of her felt so weary she just wanted to rest her head against a pillow and sleep it all away. 

Sighing, she picked her phone up from her nightstand. She checked social media, looking to see if Sansa or Tyrion were still up and active, at least online, at this hour. As luck would have it, Tyrion had just liked some post about ten minutes earlier. 

Without thinking, in desperate need to rant to someone she trusted, Brienne called Tyrion. 

“Hello?” A voice answered questioning, which in turn confused Brienne. 

“Jaime? Did I dial the wrong number?” Brienne checked her phone. Nope, she definitely called the correct Lannister. 

“No, I just have Tyrion’s phone and when I saw your name I figured I should pick up.” Jaime paused before explaining, “Tyrion and I were out tonight and he got pretty drunk. He was in the middle of liking all of Shae’s pictures when I took his phone away from him so he wouldn’t do anything stupid.” 

“That’s good of you,” Brienne said quietly, knowing Tyrion had a tendency to drunk-text his exes.

“So what’s up? Are you ok?” Jaime asked, his voice full of concern. The tone brought Brienne’s frustration back. While she grew close to Jaime through her friendship with Tyrion, she always had that feeling that he saw her as a younger sister. And so she tried her best to hide her own feelings for him. 

“Um, yeah, I guess. I mean, I’m fine. I just… wanted to talk to Tyrion about something.” 

“Something you’d want to talk to me about?” Jaime’s voice was sincere. 

Brienne almost let herself consider talking to him about it. Then she shook her head, waiting for her voice to catch up, “No, it’s ok, I’m sure you’ve had a long night taking care of Tyrion.” She knew that if Tyrion was this wasted, Jaime would be sober; he’d always make sure his brother got home safely. 

“It’s never too late to talk to you. C’mon, Brinny, what’s going on?” Brienne could hear the smile in his voice. 

Brienne rolled her eyes. She sighed and propped herself up against her pillows before allowing herself to continue, “It’s just- I’m just tired of the way people see me I guess. I’d been talking to Hyle tonight, the guy Renly set me up with, and it’s just- he couldn’t stop referring to the fact that I was younger, less experienced, less knowledgable about the world than he was.” Brienne shook her head, gripping the phone a little tighter, “And it just seems to be the pattern, you know? People tell me I’m so mature for my age, or that I’m very intelligent or something like that, but then they’ll act like I’m so naive because I didn’t decide to spend my college years going to clubs or getting drunk every weekend. It’s just- I feel like no one ever sees me past the basics. I’m smart but not social. I’m mature but naive.” She sighed, surprised at Jaime’s silence. “I just feel like no one sees me. Sometimes it makes me think that I don’t even see myself for who I am.” 

“Guys like Hyle… they don’t deserve to see the real you. If they’re too oblivious to look, then that’s on them.” Jaime sucked in a breath, holding it a moment before continuing, “But I see you.” Jaime paused, but Brienne could still hear him breathe. 

They’d never spoken about something this personal before. Usually their interactions consisted of banter or light-hearted conversations, though there was always something there below the surface that neither of them had acknowledged. But here it was. 

Jaime continued, his voice rougher than before. “You are smart, but you hate it when people say that, and I know it’s because it makes you feel like they’re putting you on a pedestal. And then when they call you naive or young, they’re ripping that pedestal out from under you so they can climb up on it. It’s never just two people as equals. But- Brienne, I want to be your equal.” 

There was another pause, “When I first met you, I was this arrogant, cocky boy who thought I could do no wrong. But you proved me wrong, and you made me want to be a better man. And I like to think that maybe I helped you, too- you’re more confident in yourself now. I mean, that wasn’t all me, but maybe you’re starting to believe it when I compliment you.” Brienne could hear the smile in Jaime’s voice. “Despite what you said, you do know yourself, and maybe there’s some wisdom in questioning that, but I know deep down that you do see yourself. I- I don’t know why I’m saying all of this now,” Jaime ended, muttering. 

“What are you saying, Jaime?” Brienne asked, live wire in her body centering into her stomach, fluttering around like butterflies. 

“I’m saying I see you. And that I love what I see, I- I love you.” 

“Love me,” Brienne repeated faintly in a questioning tone, a whisper she wasn’t sure that Jaime heard. 

A few minutes went by in silence, neither of them finding words to say. Brienne had a million questions, but something stopped her from asking them; almost afraid to ruin the moment by clarifying that he loved her the way he loved Tyrion or his dog, Bronn. 

There was a grumble on Jaime’s end and a few incoherent sounds. “Shit, I gotta go, I think Tyrion’s gonna throw up. Can we pick this up tomorrow morning? Ten o’clock, your place?” 

Brienne nodded, “Yeah, alright. Talk tomorrow.” 

“I’ll bring the coffee.” Jaime said lightly, then hung up, already talking to Tyrion. 

Brienne sighed, rubbing her eyes. That was a turn that she didn’t expect. And now she had a coffee date with Jaime Lannister tomorrow morning. She set her alarm for eight, with the intention of getting up to clean her apartment before he came over.

Sleep eluded Brienne for a duration of the night, but she found solace listening to her favorite album as she rested her hand on her cat, Pod’s side, feeling the movement of his breaths until they lulled her into a restless sleep. 

…

The knock at her door finally interrupted Brienne’s incessant tidying up and fluffing of the couch cushions. 

She opened the door, frustrated at the breathlessness of her voice as she said, “Hi.” 

Jaime grinned crookedly at her as he held out the coffee carrier to her. They’d had coffee together on a few occasions before. A few times they’d run into each other at the park; Jaime on a run with Bronn and Brienne running on her own, and they’d usually end up talking and getting coffee once they’d finished. Once they met over coffee to discuss Tyrion’s birthday- they’d thrown him a surprise party that year. But they’d never planned to get coffee together before for a non-Tyrion related conversation. 

Brienne took the coffee carrier, realizing she’d been lost in her head for a moment, handing him the latte while she took the cold brew. He put a bag on the counter and took out two cinnamon rolls. 

“Do you want to sit?” He asked hesitantly, unsure of his next step now that the coffee and food was divided up. 

“Um, sure.” Brienne led them over to her square dining room table; she sat first at the farthest of the four chairs and was pleasantly surprised when Jaime sat next to her, rather than across from her. 

She muttered her thanks when he handed her a cinnamon roll, and began picking at it while she waited for him to speak. After a minute she started wondering if he was going to speak. 

“Jaime, I-“

“Listen, Brinny-“ 

They laughed awkwardly, having spoken at the same time. Brienne gestured for him to go first, a blush heating her cheeks. 

Jaime looked down at his own cinnamon roll, which he was also picking at, set it down, wiped his hand, and reached for hers. His fingers were feather light on the back of his hand as he gently brushed a line across her knuckles before resting his hand fully on top of hers. When Brienne looked up from their joined hands, her eyes found his. 

“I’m sorry if what I said last night was too much. I mean you called Tyrion for comfort, not for his brother to profess his love for you, I-“ Jaime shook his head and looked back down.

He started to move his hand back, but Brienne, in a rush of understanding and confidence, caught it and turned his hand over to intertwine her fingers with his. That seemed to be where her confidence ran out, because she couldn’t look up at him as she said, “Are you in love with me?” She figured that was the best way to ask; to clarify that he was in love with her, not just that he had loving, familial feelings for her. 

Jaime’s fingers tightened against her own, “How could I not? Brienne,” he let out a breathe, “You’re amazing.” Brienne studied their fingers as she blinked away tears. Jaime continued, “If you don’t feel the same, I understand. I just wanted you to know. After what you said last night, I couldn’t not tell you.” His voice took on a different tone, sad and resolute. 

“And then Tyrion interrupted…” Brienne moved her thumb along the line of his thumb, “Before I could say it back.” Her thumb stilled, and Brienne looked up. 

Eyebrows raised, Jaime met her gaze, “You…” He couldn’t finish the sentence. Brienne knew he needed her to say the words. 

“I see you, too.” Brienne answered with a squeeze to his hand, “Of course I love you.” 

At that, Jaime nearly leapt out of his seat to capture her lips with his.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this. As a general note, I'm currently planning/working on two WIPs that I want to post sometime soon. Just trying to find some motivation while all of this stuff is happening. Hope you all are safe and doing well.


End file.
